Royals Exercise Option On Tony Gonsolin, Decline Bringing Back Carlos Estevez

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The Kansas City Royals kicked off their offseason by making two pretty obvious moves.

Right-handed starter Tony Gonsolin will be back in 2027 after the Royals exercised their option on his $2.5 million contract, while right-handed reliever Carlos Estevez had his option declined. Estevez was due $13 million in 2027 with a $2 million buyout.

Gonsolin came back from having internal brace surgery on his right elbow to make one start the final weekend of the season. The $2.5 million option was a very affordable price to bring back the 32-year-old starter. He will have a pretty normal offseason after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, missing the rest of that season and all of 2024.

When healthy, the longtime former Los Angeles Dodger has a 4.19 FIP (3.43 ERA) for his career with a 9% walk rate and 23.3% strikeout rate. His workload is likely to be ramped up considering his last full workload was during the 2023 season and is coming off two major elbow surgeries.

Estevez, who had 42 saves for the Royals in 2025 and turns 34 in December, only got one out in 2026 due to a variety of injuries. He was hit by a comebacker in that lone appearance that resulted in a bruised left foot. During his rehab process, he sustained a right rotator cuff injury that required surgery in September, putting his return for 2027 up in the air.

 

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